Christmas is a time for getting together and enjoying good food in a convivial atmosphere. Many of Taipei's hotels are all eager to provide a venue for this wining and dining, laying on banquets and preparing hampers of every description to meet every celebratory need. Whether it's a takeout turkey with a bottle of wine to be enjoyed at home or a full multi-course dinner with a room, it's all there, and all at very competitive prices, as hotels vie with one another to produce the best combination of quality and price. It all depends on what you want, but here follows a brief rundown of what's available in Taipei for the prospective Christmas reveler.
Now that the nativity is out the window, hotels are stuck with old Saint Nick, aka Santa Claus, and his trusty old pine tree with presents beneath. The Grand Formosa Regent, with its 12.8m-high Christmas tree in the lobby overshadowing the hotel's Azie restaurant, has clasped on to that idea and run with it. Italian is the theme, and Azie's Christmas set offers (Christmas Eve and Christmas Day) such Italianate innovations as grappa sorbet, crispy black banded sea bass with risotto verdi, tomato confit and tarragon-glazed oysters, and pan-fried beef fillet in Barolo and truffle sauce. At NT$2,000 per person and with the Christmas tree overhead, it's hard not to get into the Christmas spirit.
For something a bit more formal, you can take a seat at Robin's, where grilled Wagyu beef fillet with Sangiovese sauce, tomato gratin with zucchini and smoked provola cheese or Christmas turkey with sage and walnut stuffing, turkey gravy and cranberry sauce, braised red cabbage, confit vegetables, and potato mousseline form the centerpiece of the NT$3,000 set menu. If you don't feel like getting all dressed up for dinner, Grand Formosa Regent offers a room service special between Dec. 21 and Dec. 25 that includes a Wellspring Penthouse Suite, a special "Venetian" dinner and breakfast for two for NT$8,999. If hotels are not your thing, then get take out: Christmas hampers packed with delicious European festive foods are NT$2,000. Call (02) 2523-8000 to make bookings for any of the restaurants at Grand Formosa Regent Taipei.
Across town, the Grand Hyatt Taipei has mobilized all its restaurants to create exciting Christmas-themed menus. While the traditional turkey and beef are clearly in evidence, there is also plenty to tempt more delicate palates. The Bel Air Bar and Grill has have created a number of dishes for their Christmas Eve special set menus using seasonal ingredients, such as fresh oysters and truffles, to give the meals that something special (set menu NT$3,500). Ziga Zaga has gone out of its way to give Italian food a new twist with dishes such as pear and grappa sherbet with crushed black pepper and roasted veal with oysters on soft walnut polenta, cranberry marsala jus and Brussels sprouts (set menu NT$3,500).
If sweets are your thing, pastry chef Martin Thompson has come up with his own Christmas cakes and dessert designs, which can be enjoyed at the Cha Lounge during the afternoon tea buffet (NT$680) or a dessert and oyster buffet (NT$1,400) on Christmas Eve. There are also seasonal specialties, including Dresden-style Christmas stollen and panettone Milano. For more information or reservations, call Grand Hyatt Taipei's Food & Beverage Sales Department at (02) 2720-1200 X3198 or X3199.
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